


I like you, but that's not enough

by adishi17



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: BokuAka Week, BokuAka Week 2020, Confessions, Day 4, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, i don't touch this trope tbh lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:28:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25750600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adishi17/pseuds/adishi17
Summary: Bokuto realizes he loves Akaashi and because of that, the distance between him and the setter became bigger and his performance as the team’s ace had slowly started to get worse.Akaashi gets worried and decides to confront him about this ‘issue’.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Kudos: 55
Collections: Bokuaka Week 2020, adi's bokuaka week (2020)





	I like you, but that's not enough

**Author's Note:**

> #### BokuAka Week 2020!
> 
> **_Day 4: Friends to Lovers_ **
> 
> ;; sorry this was delayed, i wasn't feeling well when i was working on the 3rd day, and everything just came tumbling down to the point where i started procrastinating a lot TvT)  
> ;; my bokuaka week will be inconsistent, unfortunately, but i will do my best to finish this event for the sake of bokuaka <3

He didn’t know when these feelings started.

One minute, he was having a normal conversation with Akaashi the next he was staring in awe, admiring how pretty his eyes were. That was something he had never noticed before up until that point and everything seemed to be so much brighter as long as Akaashi was present.

He wasn’t sure about these feelings at first, so he had to confirm it. He had given himself a week to confirm these feelings and the results were no lie – he is, in fact, in love with Akaashi. It had taken him two years to realize this, well maybe two years and a week to realize this, but that’s beside the discovered fact.

Bokuto was overwhelmed. It just hit him so hard and fast it took him another good while to let it sink in. His thoughts about Akaashi were running wild in his brain, reminding him of every perfect feature and trait the noiret had. The black and white haired boy curled up on his bed and covered his now reddened face.

He really is in love.

But another question pops up:

Will he confess?

Bokuto sits up, clearing his thoughts to think about his decision. Going through the possible outcomes of him confessing.

One outcome was Akaashi returning his feelings and they’d go out from there on with both of them being a happy couple. Another outcome was Akaashi rejecting him and starting to avoid him afterwards, leading to them slowly drifting apart. Bokuto dreads that outcome and prays to God that doesn’t happen because that would be the last thing he wants.

Though, one outcome stands out to him. Especially since it’s connected to the relationship they have as of now.

Akaashi would politely reject his confession and say,

_ “I see you only as a friend, Bokuto-san.” _

He felt a stinging sensation in his chest from just thinking about that. Although he hasn’t confessed and heard Akaashi’s answer, he could already hear from the possible answer the noiret would have for him.

“Gahhh!” Bokuto exclaims in frustration, plopping his face on his pillow.

“Koutarou, pipe down!” His mother yelled from downstairs.

The white-haired boy apologizes and goes back to his frustration. His thoughts got louder and louder as each second passed by. He had enough, so he grabs his phone and decides to message his friend.

From: Bokuto (Sent July 31st at 10:02 PM)

[Hey hey heyyy, Akaashi!! Am I bothering you rn??]

His phone still in hand, he waits for a reply. Not long after a couple of minutes, an ellipsis appeared. His heart started racing, somehow excited for a message from the noiret.

Akaashi:

[Not really.]   
[Is something the matter, Bokuto-san?]

Even in texting each other, Akaashi was still polite towards Bokuto. Sure he was his senior, but with the way their friendship is, Bokuto sometimes wishes he would drop the formality and just call him Bokuto. Though, as time had gone by, he would subconsciously wish for the noiret to call him by his first name.

Bokuto:

[Nahh, just wanted to check up on you  ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ ]   
[Sooo, how r u???]

Akaashi:

[I’m alright, but a bit tired from studying though.]

Bokuto:

[Wah! Sorry for interrupting your studying  o(TヘTo) ]

Akaashi:

[It’s alright, Bokuto-san.]   
[I’m almost done anyways.]

Bokuto:

[Well that’s good to hear!!  (＾▽＾) ]

Their conversation went quiet. Bokuto assumed it was Akaashi finishing up his studying and preparing to go to bed. As much as Bokuto wanted to hear more from Akaashi, he should still respect the boy. Exams are coming up and he knows very well Akaashi is one who doesn’t want to fail.

As Bokuto started typing out his last message for the night, Akaashi had beat him to it.

Akaashi:

[You should get some sleep, Bokuto-san.]   
[We still have morning practice tomorrow.]

He was reminded yet again of something that he almost forgot.

Bokuto:

[Okayyyy~]   
[I’ll see u tmrw, Akaashi  (￣▽￣)ノ ]   
[Good night! Rest well and don’t overdo ur studying!]

Akaashi:

[I won’t.]   
[Good night, Bokuto-san.]

With that, their conversation had ended. But once it was over, Bokuto couldn’t help but feel a sweet sensation in his heart. It was if he had eaten something so good tonight and he’d be able to sleep well tonight. That’s what the feeling was like.

_ Is this what it’s like to be in love? _ He asks himself, pondering about his feelings yet again.

He had already confirmed it, but it left him with a dilemma  – confessing. Though, with the way he was feeling right after a chat with Akaashi, he didn’t seem to find it a problem. For now at least.

“Let’s just see where this’ll take me,” He whispers to himself.

Bokuto smiles and after a while, he slowly drifts off to sleep, feeling like he was almost on cloud nine.

* * *

A week went by fast, but not smoothly in Bokuto’s case.

He didn’t think his feelings would escalate more thanks to the coincidental times he’s been pushed to be alone with and only with Akaashi. Anytime he’d bring up a topic to keep his mind off of what he was feeling at the moment, he’d end up making the noiret smile which dealt so much damage to his heart. Hell, at the rare times he heard his friend laugh, he was tempted to pull him into a kiss.

For sure, he really was head over heels at this point.

Though it was hard for him to contain these feelings. He knows himself and he knows very well his emotions can take over and make him do something that he’ll end up regretting later on. So it was a difficult task for Bokuto to hold back on these feelings of his, but he does remind himself every now and then it’s for the better.

Right now, the two boys were on their way home. Bokuto had invited the noiret right after they finished their personal training. The usual tosses from Akaashi and Bokuto spiking almost every single one of the noiret’s tosses. He really did love his tosses.

“So Akaashi,” The white-haired boy spoke up, “how’d you do in the exams?” He asked.

“Just...right, I guess.” Akaashi replies, shrugging his shoulders. But Bokuto knows he’s done more than right, he’d ace the exams.

“Man, I wasn’t able to study for Math! I gave up as soon as I saw my textbook.” Bokuto whined, flailing his arms in the air.

“You should really put more effort, Bokuto-san. You might end up missing the next volleyball training camp if you don’t get your grades up.” As straightforward as ever, Akaashi reminds the white-haired boy of the consequence of failing a subject.

“You could’ve said that in a much lighter tone!”

“It’s the only way I can put it.” Akaashi shrugs.

Silence washes over them. Both bask in the quietness of the atmosphere that surrounded them and taking in the sight of the sky. They watch the stars twinkle and the moon shine bright. Bokuto glances at Akaashi, to see what he looked like when he gazes up at the moon. And boy was that a mistake.

The moon was reflected on the noiret’s gunmetal blue eyes which made those blue orbs of his shine in the night. They were pretty. As if they weren’t pretty before, but they became even prettier thanks to the moon.

Bokuto was mesmerized.

The white-haired boy continued staring, but after a few minutes, Akaashi noticed his friend’s gaze at him. He jumps lightly at the sudden look at him.

“Um...is there something wrong, Bokuto-san?” Akaashi asks his senior.

After a minute or so, Bokuto blinks and jumps back as if he was trying to defend himself, but really all Akaashi did was ask if there was something troubling him.

“AH! N-N-No! It’s just that...” Bokuto stutters and pauses to find the right words to say.

_ It wouldn’t hurt to compliment him...right? _

He has complimented Akaashi a lot in the past, but most of those compliments were directed at his tosses. Saying things like they were precise and really felt right whenever he spikes those tosses of his. Those were his normal compliments, so a completely new and different compliment was something he finds unusual. At least, that’s how Bokuto sees it.

“What is it?” Akaashi urges his senior to continue what he’s trying to say, to hopefully ease his mind.

Without thinking for another second, Bokuto takes the so-called risk.

“Y-Your eyes...are r-really...p-pretty..” He finally said it.

Both stop in their tracks, with Akaashi being the first one to stop. The noiret lowers his head and his body starts shaking. Bokuto notices this and starts getting worried that what he said was too much for his friend to take. Because again, it was rare for him to compliment him.

“I-I’m sorry, I probably-”

“Thank you…” Akaashi utters under his breath, barely audible, but Bokuto was able to hear it clearly.

The white-haired boy shuts his mouth and presses his lips into a thin line. Akaashi stood there, almost stiff, but his body was slightly shaking. His face was red and he was trying his best to not let the other boy see it.

Bokuto blinks for a few seconds and sighs in relief quietly, glad that he didn’t upset his friend. That’d be very bad for him and he wouldn’t want that in the slightest bit. Like, who would?

“You’re w-welcome..” The white-haired boy responds, “er, shall we...go home now? It’s getting kinda chilly now.” He asks.

To that, he receives a small shy nod from his friend. The two start walking, but Akaashi still has his head down, still trying to hide his flustered face. Bokuto didn’t seem to mind, because right now, he was happy he was able to compliment the boy on something other than his tosses. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach just thinking back to how Akaashi had thanked him for the compliment.

He was grinning from ear to ear.

On the way home, all he could think about now is showering the noiret with more compliments as the days go by.

* * *

Another week passes by, and things are not turning out great for Bokuto.

His feelings have grown stronger and are starting to gnaw at his heart and maybe even his brain. And because of that, some kind of distance was made between him and Akaashi. He didn’t mean for that to happen, but seeing as it’s helping him stay calm and focused most of the time, he just went with it. He was fine with it and he was sure that the noiret was fine with it too.

Well, he’s wrong. Akaashi was not fine with it for one bit.

The noiret noticed a change in Bokuto. Anytime he approached his senior, he would quickly excuse himself and would be out of the noiret’s sight. Whenever they were left alone in the gym during break times in training, Bokuto would find his way back to the other third years and bug them about something so random.

Then, the most significant change of all is Bokuto stopped asking Akaashi to stay late for spiking practice.

It was very unusual and unlike his friend to be acting such a way in a week. He started wondering where his energetic and enthusiastic friend had gone to, and where did the “ace” go? He also noticed how his performance as an ace decreased, like how he couldn’t get into the moment and spike like how he spiked before and he would miss a good amount of the tosses sent to him.

It was very odd and it didn’t settle right with Akaashi.

“GAH! I’M SORRY!” Bokuto yelled, dropping down to his knees and starting to pull at his hair.

The noiret snapped out of his trance thanks to that yell. He looks over at the white-haired boy and sees him starting to get frustrated, throwing a small fit at himself for missing yet another spike. Konoha walks over to Bokuto and slaps his back, giving him a short pep talk about being an ace, while the other team members gave him the usual “don’t mind” phrase.

Akaashi stayed silent, watching his friend continue on with his little fit. He lets out a sigh.

_ At least that’s one thing that didn’t change about him. _ He thought to himself.

Ah, yes, Bokuto’s well known ‘emo mode’.

Their team knows it very well and can manage around it in some ways. Though, the only one who knows how to deal with it better was the one and only Akaashi Keiji. Even he’s aware of that. But with the mysterious distance they have right now, he’s unsure if he can ever get that guy back in shape.

“Is there something up with Bokuto?” Washio, one of the other third years in the team, asks Akaashi out of the blue.

The noiret turns to look at the tall third year to answer, “I’m honestly not sure.”

It was clear that Akaashi was stumped on what’s been going on with his friend. The distance is what bothers him the most. Because he hated it. He hated not being able to talk to Bokuto, not being able to hear his catchy “Hey, hey, hey!” phrase and most of all, not being able to help him practice his spikes right after training. But why does he hate all of that?

Well obviously, he loves that noisy, enthusiastic and energetic white-haired boy.

He always has ever since he saw the boy play in a match that one time. Remembering how he saw him as a star, but that didn’t seem to change throughout the two years they’ve known each other. It was even thanks to him he got into volleyball, and he was even more thankful to be able to set for him.

“Have you talked to him?” Washio asks further.

“I tried,” Akaashi replies, sighing in a bit of frustration from remembering his countless attempts of starting a conversation with Bokuto.

“I see,” The tall brunet says before continuing, “it’s really unusual seeing you apart, he was inseparable from you and seeing him avoid you like some kind of plague is just odd.”

_ It really is. _

“How ‘bout you be the one to suggest spiking practice after training?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, isn’t  _ he _ usually the one who drags you into practicing his spikes?”

That is true – Bokuto was usually the one who pulled Akaashi into practicing his spikes. And the fact that he was a setter made it even better for the white-haired boy. He would grab any opportunity for them to practice, up until Bokuto was satisfied for the day. How Akaashi keeps up with that boy, none of the team will ever understand.

“I guess...that isn’t a bad idea.” Akaashi responds, smiling a tiny bit at the suggestion, thinking maybe, just maybe, he’d finally be able to talk to the boy.

To finally confront him about what’s been going on between them.

“Thanks, Washio-san.”

So once training was over, Akaashi acted quickly. He walks over to Bokuto and, before he takes one step out of the gym, grabs his wrist tightly, causing the white-haired boy to look at the noiret.

“Ah? Y-Yes Aka-”

“Let me toss to you some more.” Akaashi said sternly, almost sounding as if he was demanding his friend to practice spiking.

Bokuto flinches at the blunt statement, blinking for a few seconds before nodding hesitantly. He turns to look at the other members of the team telling them that he and Akaashi will be staying back once again. They were used to it and nonchalantly replied with an “alright” before they headed to the clubroom.

After that was done, the two males began their personal training. Though, little did Bokuto know this was mostly a way for Akaashi to get him more comfortable around him. Because right now, he could clearly tell that his friend was feeling a bit stiff. But he let that slide for now, because all he needed to do was get him in the moment.

* * *

Bokuto missed almost all of Akaashi’s tosses to him.

If Akaashi were to count it, he was only able to successfully spike four of his tosses out of who knows how many. The noiret lost track of how many times he has tossed to the white-haired boy. Right now, they were taking a break. At least that’s what Akaashi hopes unless Bokuto calls it for today, but he highly doubts that.

It was painfully obvious that Bokuto was itching to improve his spikes, but he just wasn’t sure why he’s doing ‘bad’. Akaashi only had the hunch that he was bothered about something, and that might have something to do with the distance they had between them. Though the only way to confirm this was to confront him.

Which was what he had planned to do.

Both males were sitting down on the floor and leaning against the gym’s wall, clearly tired. Though, as minutes went by, they slowly started regaining their energy bit by bit. 

As they were resting up, Bokuto would occasionally glance at Akaashi and then quickly look away as soon as he saw the noiret’s gaze shift. The other did the same, but much more discreetly and was able to pick up on his friend’s glances at him. He had no doubt that there was something bothering him and it had something to do with Akaashi himself.

Once the noiret started feeling anxious, he wasted no time and spoke up.

“Is there something bothering you, Bokuto-san?”

The white-haired boy flinched, slowly turned his head to face his friend only to meet with worried eyes. He quickly looks the opposite direction, averting his golden eyes from gunmetal blue ones. He was afraid if he looked even deeper, he wouldn’t be able to control himself much longer.

“Bokuto-san,” The noiret attempts to press further, but the more he did, the more his friend refused to look at him. He lets out a frustrated sigh, “If there’s something bothering you in any way, you can always talk to me.”

Bokuto still wouldn’t budge. He still wouldn’t look in Akaashi’s way and now, he had his entire body facing the direction he was looking at. He guesses he might have to use a different approach to the situation.

“I just want to remind you the team is counting on you, Bokuto-san.” the noiret starts, “Not only as the ace, but as our captain as well. If you continue to let something bother you, it won’t benefit anyone. So please...” Akaashi pauses to see if he has gotten any reaction at all from the white-haired boy.

Almost nothing. His body had somehow looked a bit more relaxed than stiff like a while ago when they were practicing.

Akaashi smiles slightly before continuing, “Tell me what’s been bothering you.”

Once Akaashi finished his statement, Bokuto had finally relaxed even more. Hearing those words helped him calm down and ease his racing heart. His thoughts running wild, unsure of what to do at this point. He let those thoughts of his eat him up and just like that, he had enough.

He took in a deep breath and turned to look at Akaashi before blurting out words he never thought he’d say.

“I LOVE YOU!”

And like that, Bokuto felt like some kind of weight was lifted off his shoulders. He started panting, feeling some kind of exhaustion from that sudden confession. Akaashi’s eyes widened at the unexpected response he got. As he opened his mouth to say something, his friend had more to add.

“I don’t exactly know when I started...loving you...I just- It was just out of nowhere. Like, I remember talking to you one time and all I could see in my head were your eyes. Then another time, I could only clearly remember your smile, and- damn, I couldn’t stop thinking about it for days! And just when I thought that was the best part about you, I heard you laugh and I just felt like- Gwah!”

Bokuto pauses, trying to gather his words for a minute. But before continuing, he looks directly into Akaashi’s gunmetal blue eyes, remembering that one night he complimented them.

“But when I looked at your eyes again, I knew for sure...that’s my favorite part about you.”

The white-haired boy smiles at the noiret who seemed to have turned red from hearing what his friend said. The noiret was in disbelief, questioning if what he heard was true. He stayed still, unsure of how to respond. Bokuto was alarmed and started getting somewhat frantic.

"B-But I'm not forcing you to go out with me or a-anything like that, I just wanted you to h-hear what I have to say," The white-haired boy explained, his words going all over the place. "a-and I'm not asking you to return these feelings right now, 'cuz I know you need some time to think things over and I respect that, I really do!"

Bokuto continued rambling on while Akaashi sat there, staring at the boy who was doing his best to explain how much he really understands the noiret.

"I promise, I'll get rid of these feelings if that's what you-"

"Koutarou. Stop." Akaashi spoke up, the sound of his voice calling the white-haired boy by his first name sent shivers down Bokuto's spine causing him to shut up and pursed his lips into a thin line.

The noiret took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He takes a few seconds to think about what he's going to say. Once he knew what to say, he began.

"I...feel the same way, Bokuto-san." Although the boy was slightly embarrassed by the unnecessary pause, he was still proud that he had finally said what had been hidden deep in his heart. "Always have since the day I saw you play in one match."

His embarrassment slowly started to grow as he realized what he had just said. As much as he wanted to add that he even thought of him as a star, he spared himself from the possibility of humiliation.

“R-Really?” Bokuto asks, reassuring himself that what he had just heard is true.

Akaashi responded with a nod. He turns away from his friend then hugs his legs close to his chest and buries his face into his knees, covering his reddened face. With neither saying anything more, they sat there in silence and let their thoughts take over. The exhaustion of their body from their personal training had faded and was replaced with the quick beating of their hearts – from both fatigue and excitement.

Bokuto would glance over at Akaashi once in a while, trying to see if the younger boy had relaxed. Though it seems like he was still processing what had happened. The white-haired boy couldn’t take the silence any longer.

“You know,” he spoke up, hoping the noiret was at least listening, “I honestly thought I’d just like you, but I guess...that wasn’t enough.”

To that, Akaashi lifts his head up and turns his gaze towards Bokuto. He was met with a warm smile and golden eyes staring fondly back at him. To think it wasn’t possible, his heart skipped a beat. The noiret returns the smile and chuckles to himself. Bokuto furrows his brows in confusion.

“What?”

“I didn’t know you were so cheesy, Bokuto-san.”

“Wha- Hey! I’m not that good with words, okay?!” The white-haired boy sheepishly remarks, “Also, could you drop the formalities already?”

Akaashi replies with a hum and tilts his head slightly to the side, curious as to what he meant.

“Just call me by my first name...please.”

It didn’t even cross the noiret’s mind that he had called Bokuto by his first name minutes ago. And he didn’t expect for him to be so accepting of it.

“Okay...K-Koutarou..” He replies shyly, almost covering his face once again to hide his reddened face, but Bokuto stopped him by grabbing his forearm, still keeping their eye contact.

“Keiji,” The white-haired boy whispers.

Now it was Akaashi’s turn to feel the shivering sensation from hearing the white-haired boy, he has loved for a long while, call him by his first name.

“Are we lovers now?” Bokuto asks, the volume of his voice still the same.

The noiret’s eyes widened in surprise, taken aback by the question. It did make sense that they’d be labeled as lovers now considering that they had mutual feelings, but still there was the initial thought of Bokuto asking this because maybe, just maybe, he didn’t want to jump into being lovers already.

So, he asks, “W-Would you like that?”

Without any hesitation at all, Bokuto answers with a wide grin on his face, “Of course! That is if...you’re okay with it, Keiji.”

Another shiver down his spine. It’ll be a long while before Akaashi gets used to being called Keiji by Bokuto.

“I’m more than okay with it, Koutarou.” The noiret responds, smiling softly at the white-haired boy.

And to that, Bokuto blushes.

Right after that concluded confession, the two didn’t spend any more time practicing Bokuto’s spikes. They cleaned up the gym, locking it afterwards, and quickly changed into their extra clothes. 

On their way home, they could tell that the distance between them had disappeared. It was if everything was back to normal except for one – their relationship. Not only did they fix whatever was going on between them, they were finally able to admit their feelings to one another only to find out it was mutual for both. Today was a happy day.

Because of that, they couldn’t stop smiling on their way home as they intertwined their hands in the quiet night.

**Author's Note:**

> #### Day 4: COMPLETE
> 
> ;; aaa this was probably a bit rushed cuz i really wanted to work on day 5  
> ;; this was supposed to be short, but ofc, "perfectionist" me had to take over and made this 4k words long :"D  
> ;; also wanna apologize for the constant time skips, i just really got impatient and kinda rushed some stuff TvT) //yet somehow i managed to make this 4k words long gr  
> ;; anyways, hope you guys liked this fic :'))


End file.
